Cableway Vehicle Having Crossing Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A cableway vehicle having crossing apparatus is provided. In order to enable easier access to an access unit of a cableway support of a cableway, a crossover apparatus for the crossing-over of persons from the cableway vehicle to the access unit of the cableway support is provided on the cableway vehicle, the crossover apparatus being displaceable relative to the cableway vehicle between a stowage position in which the crossover apparatus is stowed on the cableway vehicle and a deployed position intended for carrying out the crossover, wherein a fastening section is provided on the crossover apparatus to releasably couple the crossover apparatus to the access unit of the cableway support in the deployed position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of PCTApplication Ser. No. PCT/EP2021/057998, filed Mar. 26, 2021, entitled,“Cableway Vehicle Having Crossing Apparatus”, which claims priority toAustrian Application No. TA50464/2020, filed May 27, 2020, both of whichare hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a cableway vehicle for a cableway, to acableway, and to a method for carrying out the crossing-over of a personfrom a cableway vehicle of a cableway to an access unit of a cablewaysupport of the cableway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cableways are available in a wide variety of designs, mostly fortransporting people and/or goods, for example as urban means oftransport or for transporting people in ski areas. Funiculars are knownin which mostly rail-bound vehicles are fastened to a wire cable inorder to be pulled by the wire cable. The movement takes place on theground, with funiculars mostly used on mountain routes. In the case ofaerial cableways, on the other hand, cableway vehicles such as gondolas,cars, or chairs are carried by one or more (wire) cables without fixedguides, and moved while hanging in the air. The cableway vehiclestherefore have no contact with the ground. Aerial cableways are usuallyused in rough terrain, mostly for mountain routes, for example in skiareas, to transport people from the valley up a mountain. As a rule,cableways have two stations between which the cableway vehicles aremoved.

A distinction must be made between circulating cableways and aerialcableways. In the case of aerial cableways, one or two cableway vehiclespulled by a traction cable travel back and forth on a conveyor cable ona trajectory between two stations. Circulating cableways, on the otherhand, have a continuous conveyor cable which is constantly circulatingbetween the stations and on which a plurality of cableway vehicles, suchas gondolas, cars, or chairs, are suspended. The cableway vehicles aremoved from one station to the other on one side and back again on theopposite side. The movement of the cableway vehicles is therefore alwaysessentially continuous in one direction, and analogous to that of acontinuous conveyor.

In order to be able to bridge greater distances, one or more cablewaysupports for guiding the (carrying/traction) cable(s) are usuallyarranged between the two stations. A plurality of rollers, for examplein the form of a so-called roller set, is usually arranged on a cablewaysupport in order to carry and guide the cable. In order to be able tocarry out maintenance and repairs on the cableway supports, inparticular on the rollers, access units are often provided on thecableway supports. Such access units can be designed, for example, inthe form of (maintenance) platforms and/or steps and can be accessed bymaintenance personnel. In addition, safety devices, for examplerailings, can also be provided in order to increase the safety for themaintenance personnel.

Depending on the purpose and terrain, cableway supports can have aheight that is between a few meters and more than 150 m. Until now,entry to the access units for the cableway supports was only possiblevia ladders from the ground. However, due to the often impassableterrain and especially because of the sometimes great heights of thecableway supports, such entry is very difficult and time-consuming.

Maintenance cars are known in the prior art, as disclosed for example inUS 2012 0240812 A1. The car has a platform which is arranged on thesuspending rod and which is accessible from the car via a fixed ladder.A crossover to an access unit of a cableway support is therefore notpossible.

EP 2 810 842 A1 discloses a climbing aid with a ladder and a platformwhich can be fastened to the suspension gear and can be mounted on aconventional cableway vehicle, such as a gondola or a chair. In thiscase too, no crossover to an access unit of a cableway support ispossible.

Evacuation ladders are known in the field of suspension lifts, asdisclosed for example in CN 207241689 U. In this case, a car can beexited through a roof hatch via a first evacuation ladder in order toget onto the roof. The roof hatch is connected to the roof in anarticulated manner, and serves at the same time as a second evacuationladder. The roof hatch can be attached to an evacuation platform inorder to permit climbing through a hatch from below onto the evacuationplatform. The cars of suspended lifts are relatively large and heavy,and usually run with wheels on parallel rails. For this reason, the carsare not exposed to any, or only to very low, oscillations duringoperation. In the case of cableways, on the other hand, in which thecableway vehicles are moved with flexible conveying cables, swingingmovements often occur, which can be amplified, for example, by windforces. The evacuation system of CN 207241689 U is therefore unsuitablefor the crossing-over of a person from a cableway vehicle of a cablewayto an access unit of a cableway support of the cableway, because theevacuation ladders could become detached very easily.

It is therefore an object of the invention to enable easier entry to anaccess unit of a cableway support of a cable car.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, the object is achieved in that a crossoverapparatus for the crossing-over of persons from the cableway vehicle toan access unit of a cableway support of the cableway is provided on thecableway vehicle, the crossover apparatus being displaceable relative tothe cableway vehicle between a stowage position in which the crossoverapparatus is stowed on the cableway vehicle and a deployed positionintended for carrying out the crossover, wherein a fastening section isprovided on the crossover apparatus to releasably couple the crossoverapparatus to the access unit of the cableway support when in thedeployed position. This enables entry to the access unit directly from acableway vehicle, is significantly less strenuous and lesstime-consuming for maintenance personnel than via a ladder from theground.

A vehicle-mounted holding device is preferably provided on the cablewayvehicle in order to releasably couple the crossover apparatus to thecableway vehicle by means of the fastening section in the stowageposition. As a result, the crossover apparatus can be secured to thecableway vehicle during travel.

The cableway vehicle is preferably designed as a maintenance vehicle,wherein an access platform for persons is provided in an upper region ofthe cableway vehicle, and the vehicle-mounted holding device is arrangedon the access platform. As a result, the crossover apparatus can also beused in the stowage position in order to reach the access platform.

A locking unit can be provided on the fastening section of the crossoverapparatus in order to lock the crossover apparatus on the access unit inthe deployed position and/or on the cableway vehicle in the stowageposition, in particular on the vehicle-mounted holding device. Thelocking unit preferably has at least one locking element, wherein thelocking element is preferably preloaded by means of at least one preloadelement. By providing a locking unit, the risk of the crossoverapparatus becoming detached in an undesired manner can be reduced,whereby safety can be increased.

For a better hold during the crossover, the crossover apparatuspreferably has at least one step element and/or holding element for aperson to step onto or hold onto.

It can also be advantageous if a length of the crossover apparatus isvariable, so as to adapt the length of the crossover apparatus to avariable distance between the access unit and the cableway vehicle.

The crossover apparatus can be designed as a single piece, or thecrossover apparatus can have a crossover unit on which at least onefastening element is fastened, wherein the fastening section is providedon the fastening element. The crossover unit can advantageously bedesigned as a ladder, preferably a telescopic ladder. As a result of themulti-part design, components can if necessary be replaced in the eventof damage; or crossover units of different lengths can be used.

At least one sensor for generating a sensor signal dependent on a stateof the crossover apparatus, and at least one alarm unit for generating apreferably acoustic alarm dependent on the sensor signal obtained by thesensor, can also be provided on the cableway vehicle. As a result, analarm can be generated if the cableway vehicle is moved while thecrossover apparatus is coupled to the access unit, whereby the safety ofoperation can be increased.

Preferably, the crossover apparatus is designed to allow for a relativemovement between the crossover apparatus and the cableway vehicle in thedeployed position in the coupled state on the access unit. Any swingingmovements of the cableway vehicle can be compensated for as a result.

The object is further achieved by a cableway according to claim 12 andby a method according to claim 16.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the present invention is described in greater detailwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 , which, by way of example, showschematic and non-limiting advantageous embodiments of the invention.The drawings show:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cableway vehicle with a crossover apparatus in thecoupled state on an access unit of a cableway support;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cableway vehicle with a crossover apparatus in thestowage position; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a detail view of the upper region of the crossoverapparatus in the coupled state on an access unit of a cableway support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a cableway support 1 of a cableway 2 with a roller set 3and an access unit 4. The structure of such a cableway 2 is known inprinciple, which is why only the components essential for the inventionare described here. The roller set 3 has a number of rollers 5 arrangedone behind the other, on which a conveyor cable 6 of the cableway 2 isguided. The roller set 3 is attached to the cableway support 1 in orderto support the load on the conveyor cable 6, and in particular thecableway vehicle 7 arranged thereon, via the cableway support 1 on theground. Multiple cableway vehicles 7 are usually suspended at a certaindistance from one another on the conveyor cable 6. A cableway vehicle 7can be fastened, for example, to the conveyor cable 6 as shown by meansof a releasable clamping mechanism 8, in order to allow decoupling ofthe cableway vehicle 7 from the conveyor cable 6 at a station.

The decoupling can take place, for example, in order to reduce speedwhile traveling through the station in order to enable easier entry andexit of people. However, decoupling can also take place after a cablewayhas closed, for example, in order to park the cableway vehicle outsideoperating hours, for example in a suitable garage. Of course, anon-decouplable connection of the cableway vehicle 7 to the conveyorcable 6 would also be possible. In the example shown, the cablewayvehicle 7 is designed as a maintenance vehicle which is used formaintenance of the cableway 2. A maintenance vehicle usually has an atleast partially open cabin, so that the maintenance vehicle can beexited by a person to perform maintenance. The cabin of the maintenancevehicle can have, for example, a metal frame with a closed base andpartially closed side surfaces.

The access unit 4 of the cableway support 1 is designed in this case asa stairway with a plurality of steps 11, and can be used, for example,for carrying out maintenance work on the roller set 3 or on other partsof the cableway support 1. Due to the design, however, the roller set 3is generally accessible from the access unit 4 only on one side - fromthe inner side facing the cableway support 1. The opposite outer side ofthe roller set 3 cannot be reached from the access unit 4, or can onlybe reached with difficulty. In the embodiment shown, the maintenancevehicle therefore also has an inspection platform 10 which is arrangedin an upper region of the maintenance vehicle. The inspection platform10 is accessible from the cabin via a ladder 9, which is generally fixedin place. As a result, a person can climb from the cabin onto theinspection platform 10 via the ladder 9, for example in order to carryout certain maintenance activities on the outer side of the roller set3.

The access unit 4 can be fastened to the roller set 3 and/or to thecableway support 1 itself. In the example shown, a railing 12 isadditionally provided on the steps 11 in order to increase safety forpeople when using the access unit 4. Of course, this is only an example,and the access unit 4 could also be constructed in any other way and,for example, could have only one platform with or without a railing 12.If the cableway support 1 is designed as a framework construction, theaccess unit 4 could for example also be directly a part of the cablewaysupport 1.

A maintenance ladder 13 is indicated schematically on the cablewaysupport 1, and persons, in particular maintenance personnel, can climbup from the ground to the access unit 4 via this ladder. Of course, sucha maintenance ladder 13 can also have additional safety elements, forexample a type of cage, in order to secure people against falling down.Until now, entry to the access unit 4 has essentially only taken placevia such maintenance ladders 13. It can be seen immediately that entryvia the maintenance ladder 13 is very strenuous and time-consuming, inparticular in the case of very high cableway supports 1, which is ofcourse disadvantageous. In addition, there is the additional difficultythat cableway supports 1 are often arranged in impassable, for examplesteep, rocky terrain, whereby even reaching the cableway support 1 onthe ground is very difficult. In addition, when using a maintenanceladder 13, a person is restricted with regard to baggage such as tools.

In order to facilitate the access of persons to the access unit 4,according to the invention a crossover apparatus 14 for the crossover ofpersons from the cableway vehicle 7 to the access unit 4 of the cablewaysupport 1 of the cableway 2 is provided on the cableway vehicle 7. Thecrossover apparatus 14 is displaceable relative to the cableway vehicle7 between a stowage position (FIG. 2 ), in which the crossover apparatus14 is stowed on the cableway vehicle 7 and a deployed position shown inFIG. 1 , which is provided for carrying out the crossover. A fasteningsection 15 is provided on the crossover apparatus 14 in order toreleasably couple the crossover apparatus 14 to the access unit 4 of thecableway support 1 in the deployed position. For this purpose, asuitable support-mounted holding device 16 is preferably also providedon the access unit 4, and corresponds to the fastening section 15 in asuitable manner. The fastening section 15 is preferably designed in sucha way that a connection to the access unit 4 that is as stable aspossible and that is essentially positive-locking at least on one side,can be achieved. For this purpose, the fastening section 15 can have,for example, at least one receiving opening 20 for receiving a sectionof the access unit 4, as will be explained in more detail below.

In an advantageous manner, the crossover apparatus 14 is also designedsuch that a certain relative movement between the crossover apparatus 14and the cableway vehicle 7 is possible in the deployed position on theaccess unit 4 in the coupled state. As a result, it can be ensured thatthe crossover apparatus 14 remains coupled to the access unit 4 even inthe case of swinging movements of the cableway vehicle 7, and does notbecome detached from the access unit 4 due to the oscillations of thecableway vehicle 7. As a result of the design, oscillations or swingingmovements of the cableway vehicle 7 often occur during operation of thecableway 2. Lateral swinging results, for example, from the fact thatthe cableway vehicle 7 is suspended on the conveyor cable 6 and theconveyor cable 6 serves essentially as an axis of rotation. In thedirection of movement, for example, braking and acceleration processescan produce forward and backward swinging. It may also be desirable toallow certain degrees of freedom in the swinging movements. In order toenable this, for example one or more pivot joints can be provided on thesuspension gear of the cableway vehicle 7, for example on a cable clampwith which the cableway vehicle 7 is fixedly or releasably fastened tothe conveyor cable 6. Due to the comparatively low mass of a cablewayvehicle 7, oscillations which are caused for example by wind forcesacting on the cableway vehicle 7 and/or by weight displacement ofpersons in the cableway vehicle 7 can be relatively easily excited oramplified.

For this purpose, the cableway vehicle 7 is moved into a crossoverposition sufficiently close to the access unit 4 and stopped. A personpositioned on the cableway vehicle 7 can then manually displace thecrossover apparatus 14 from the stowage position into the deployedposition and releasably couple the fastening section 15 of the crossoverapparatus 14 to the access unit 4, in particular to the support-mountedholding device 16 arranged thereon. After the coupling, the person cancross over to the access unit 4 from the cableway vehicle 7 via thecrossover apparatus 14, for example in order to carry out maintenancework on the roller set 3. Since the cableway vehicle 7 can be subjectedto certain vibrations as described, for example by the movement of thepersons in the cableway vehicle 7, it is advantageous if a certainrelative movement is possible between the crossover apparatus 14 and thecableway vehicle 7 in the coupled state on the access unit 4. However,the maximum permissible relative movement should not be too large, sothat the crossover apparatus 14 does not completely detach from thecableway vehicle 7. The degree of freedom of the relative movement couldbe limited, for example, by a stop (not shown) and/or by a cable (notshown) which connects the crossover apparatus 14 and the cablewayvehicle 7. At the end of work, the person can return to the cablewayvehicle 7 via the crossover apparatus 14 from the access unit 4. Thecrossover apparatus 14 can then be released from the access unit 4 andmoved back from the deployed position into the stowage position, and thecableway vehicle 7 can be moved again, for example to the next cablewaysupport 1, in order to carry out maintenance work there as well.

In order to increase safety, it can be advantageous if a locking unit 21is provided on the fastening section 15 of the crossover apparatus 14 inorder to lock the crossover apparatus 14, in particular thesupport-mounted holding device 16 provided thereon, in the deployedposition on the access unit 4. As a result, the crossover apparatus 14can be secured against undesired release. The crossover apparatus 14preferably has at least one step element and/or holding element 17 for aperson to step onto and/or to hold onto. Preferably, a plurality ofholding elements 17 is of course provided. It can also be advantageousif a length of the crossover apparatus 14 can be changed in order toadapt the length of the crossover apparatus 14 to a variable distancebetween the access unit 4 and the cableway vehicle 7. As a result, it isnot necessary for the positioning of the cableway vehicle 7 in thecrossover position in the region of the access unit 4 to take place veryprecisely; instead, the length of the crossover apparatus 14 can beeasily adjusted and adapted to the distance in question. In the exampleshown, the crossover apparatus 14 is designed in multiple parts, havinga crossover unit 14 a on the end of which two fastening elements 15 aare arranged, on which the fastening section 15 is provided. Thecrossover unit 14 a can advantageously be designed as a ladder, as inthe example shown. For adapting the length, for example, a telescopicladder can be provided as a crossover unit 14 a.

Only the cableway vehicle 7 is shown in FIG. 2 ; the conveyor cable 6and the cableway support 1, including the access unit 4, are not shownfor reasons of better clarity. The crossover apparatus 14 is shown herein the stowage position, in which the crossover apparatus 14 is stowedon the cableway vehicle 7. For the operation of the cableway 2, i.e.,during the movement of the cableway vehicle 7, the crossover apparatus14 is preferably in the stowed position shown, and is preferably securedagainst undesired release on the cableway vehicle 7. For this purpose, avehicle-mounted holding device 18 can also be provided on the cablewayvehicle 7 in order to releasably couple the crossover apparatus 14 tothe cableway vehicle 7 in the stowage position by means of the fasteningsection 15. If a locking unit 21 is provided on the crossover apparatus14, the locking unit 21 can also be used to lock the crossover apparatus14 in the stowage position on the cableway vehicle 7, in particular onthe vehicle-mounted holding device 18 provided thereon. As a result, thecrossover apparatus 14 is secured against undesired release during themovement of the cableway vehicle 7.

An access platform 19 can advantageously be provided on an upper regionof the cableway vehicle 7. In this case, the vehicle-mounted holdingdevice 18 is advantageously arranged on the access platform 19. In theexample shown, the vehicle-mounted holding device 18 has two holdingelements 18 a which are fastened to the access platform 19 and projectbeyond the edge of the access platform 19. The two holding elements 18 aare connected to a holding rod 18 b. In the stowage position shown, thecrossover apparatus 14 can be hooked over the holding rod 18 b by meansof the fastening section 15 in order to releasably couple the crossoverapparatus 14 to the vehicle-mounted holding device 18.

In the stowage position, the crossover apparatus 14 can also be used,for example, to reach the access platform 19 from the cabin of thecableway vehicle 7. In the case shown, for example, a first person canclimb up to the inspection platform 10 via the ladder 9, and a secondperson can climb up to the access platform 19 via the crossoverapparatus 14. For example, the second person, on the access platform 19,can support the first person on the platform 10 during an inspection ofthe roller set 3. Of course, a corresponding distance is providedbetween the access platform 19 and the holding rod 18 b for thispurpose, which distance is sufficiently large for a person to be able toclimb up from the cabin to the access platform 19 via the crossoverapparatus 14.

The crossover apparatus 14 can thus also be used for other things thancrossing over of a person to the access unit 4 of the cableway support1. For example, the cableway vehicle 7 could initially be moved into thecrossover position near the access unit 4 of the cableway support 1, anda first person could cross over to the access unit 4 via the crossoverapparatus 14. A second person could then move the crossover apparatus 14back into the stowage position (while the first person is positioned onthe access unit 4). The cableway vehicle 7 could then be moved furtherinto a position in which the inspection platform 10 of the cablewayvehicle 7 is positioned transverse to the movement direction relative tothe access unit 4 of the cableway support 1. As such, the second personcould perform maintenance work on the outer side of the roller set 3,and the first person could perform maintenance work on the inner side ofthe roller set 3.

FIG. 3 shows a detail view of the upper region of the crossoverapparatus 14 in the deployed position in the coupled state on the accessunit 4. For a better overview, the remaining components (conveyor cable6, cableway vehicle 7, cableway support 1) are not shown. In the exampleshown, a support-mounted holding device 16 is provided on the accessunit 4. The support-mounted holding device 16 in this case has twofastening brackets 16 a, which are fastened laterally to the lowermoststep 11 of the access unit 4. The fastening brackets 16 a could, ofcourse, also be integrally formed with the access unit 4. In order to beable to easily retrofit the support-mounted holding device 16 to anexisting access unit 4, it is advantageous, however, if it is designedas an independent assembly. The fastening brackets 16 a are connected toa connecting rod 16 b on which the fastening section 15 of the crossoverapparatus 14 is arranged in order to releasably couple the crossoverapparatus 14 to the access unit 4.

As described, the crossover apparatus 14 in this case comprises acrossover unit 14 a designed as a ladder and two separate fasteningelements 15 a, which are each fastened laterally at the upper end of theladders. The fastening section 15 of the crossover apparatus 14 is thusformed on the two fastening elements 15 a. As a result, for example, aconventional, commercially available ladder can be used as the crossoverunit 14 a, wherein the ladder is preferably made of a light,weather-resistant material with sufficient strength, for examplealuminum. Of course, the crossover apparatus 14 could also be formed asa single piece with an integral fastening section 15. The use of aladder and at least one separate fastening element 15 a, on which thefastening section 15 is formed, however, has the advantage that theladder can easily be replaced, for example in the event of damage,and/or that ladders of different lengths can be used.

In the embodiment shown, the two fastening elements 15 a each have adownwardly open receiving opening 20, by means of which the crossoverapparatus 14 can be hooked over the connecting rod 16 b of thesupport-mounted holding device 16 in the deployed position (andanalogously on the vehicle-mounted holding device 18 in the stowageposition). The receiving openings 20 are preferably sized such that theconnecting rod 16 b is substantially surrounded in the shape of theletter U by the fastening elements 15 a. In order to secure thecrossover apparatus 14 against undesired release from the access unit 4,it is advantageous, as already mentioned, if a locking unit 21 isprovided on the fastening section 15. In the example shown, a lockingelement 21 a is provided on each of the fastening elements 15 a, and isconnected in an articulated manner at a pivot point P on each side tothe respective fastening elements 15 a.

As a result, the locking elements 21 a can be pivoted upward by theconnecting rod 16 b when the connecting rod 16 b is inserted into thereceiving openings 20. After the connecting rod 16 b has been insertedsufficiently far into the receiving openings 20, the locking elements 21a automatically pivot downwards due to gravity. The free end of thelocking elements 21 a then rests on an inner surface of the receivingopenings 20 opposite the pivot point P, and closes off the open side ofthe receiving openings 20 from the inside, in a manner similar to acarabiner. The crossover apparatus 14 can thus no longer beunintentionally released from the connecting rod 16 b. Safety can befurther increased if the locking elements 21 a are each preloaded bymeans of a suitable preload element (not shown), for example amechanical spring, in the direction of the inner surface of thereceiving openings 20 opposite the pivot point P.

To unlock the locking unit 21, the locking elements 21 a can be pivotedsufficiently far upward against the force of gravity (and possiblycounter to the preload force of the preload elements), such that theconnecting rod 16 b can be moved out of the receiving openings 20through the open sides of the receiving openings 20 when the crossoverapparatus 14 is lifted. The locking elements 21 a can be actuatedmanually by a person, for example, from the access platform 19. However,a suitable actuating device (not shown) could also be provided in orderto pivot the locking elements 21 a to unlock the locking unit 21, forexample from the cabin of the cableway vehicle 7. As an actuatingdevice, for example, a suitable cable pull could be used, which can, forexample, also be arranged inside an upright tube of the ladder. Ingeneral, it may also be sufficient for a locking element 21 a to beprovided only on one of the fastening elements 15 a. Of course, theillustrated embodiment of the crossover apparatus 14 is to be understoodonly by way of example, and the person skilled in the art could alsoprovide other suitable structural designs.

Preferably, at least one (not shown) sensor is provided on the cablewayvehicle 7 and/or on the cableway support 1 in order to generate a sensorsignal dependent on a state of the crossover apparatus 14, and at leastone alarm unit (not shown) is provided on the cableway support 1 and/oron the cableway vehicle 7 for generating a preferably acoustic alarmdependent on the sensor signal obtained from the sensor. As a result, analarm can be triggered, for example, if the crossover apparatus 14 ispositioned on the access unit 4 in the deployed position in the coupledstate and the cableway vehicle 7 begins to move. For example, the sensorcould be designed to detect a relative movement or a relative distancebetween the crossover apparatus 14 and the cableway vehicle 7 as thestate of the crossover apparatus 14. When a relative movement occurs orwhen a certain relative distance between the crossover apparatus 14 andthe cableway vehicle 7 is reached or exceeded, a sensor signal can begenerated by the sensor, as a result of which the alarm unit triggers analarm. The generation of a sensor signal is naturally also understood tomean an interruption of a signal.

In a simple embodiment, for example, a known contact switch could beprovided as a sensor, which generates a sensor signal when a contact ofthe contact switch is interrupted. The interruption of the contact cantake place, for example, when a certain relative distance between thecrossover apparatus 14 and a component of the cableway vehicle 7 isexceeded, as a result of which an alarm is triggered by the alarm unit.When the alarm is triggered, the operator of the cableway 2 can react,and, for example, can stop the movement of the cableway vehicle 7. Itwould be conceivable, for example, to provide a first contact element ofthe contact switch on the crossover apparatus 14 and a second contactelement of the contact switch on a component of the cableway vehicle 7,for example on the vehicle-mounted holding device 18, which contactelement is in electrical contact during normal operation.

As long as the relative distance between the crossover apparatus 14 andthe cableway vehicle 7 is less than a certain trigger distance, thecontact between the contact elements will be preserved. If the releasedistance is reached or exceeded, the contact between the contactelements will be interrupted. The interruption of the electrical contactthus corresponds to the generation of the sensor signal. The alarm unitconsequently triggers the alarm when the contact is interrupted. Inorder to further increase safety, the cableway 2 could also have acontrol unit for controlling a drive of the cableway 2, which controlunit is provided to control the drive of the cableway according to thesensor signal obtained from the sensor. As a result, the drive of thecableway 2 can be automatically stopped when the sensor signal isreceived, for example, without an operator of the cableway 2 having tostop the cableway 2 in response to the alarm signal.

Finally, it should be noted again that the described embodiments areonly to be understood as examples and are not restrictive. In additionto the embodiments shown, further variants would of course also beconceivable, which are at the discretion of the person skilled in theart. For example, a person skilled in the art can adapt the invention tothe specific conditions of a cableway, for example to different forms ofcableway supports 1, access units 4, etc.

1. A cableway vehicle for a cableway, comprising: a crossover apparatuson the cableway vehicle for the crossover of persons from the cablewayvehicle to an access unit of a cableway support of the cableway, thecrossover apparatus being displaceable relative to the cableway vehiclebetween a stowage position in which the crossover apparatus is stowed onthe cableway vehicle and a deployed position intended for carrying outthe crossover, wherein a fastening section is provided on the crossoverapparatus to releasably couple the crossover apparatus to the accessunit of the cableway support in the deployed position.
 2. A cablewayvehicle according to claim 1, wherein a vehicle-mounted holding deviceis provided on the cableway vehicle in order to releasably couple thecrossover apparatus in the stowage position to the cableway vehiclemeans of the fastening section.
 3. A cableway vehicle according to claim2, wherein the cableway vehicle is designed as a maintenance vehicle,wherein an access platform for persons is provided in an upper region ofthe cableway vehicle and the vehicle-mounted holding device is arrangedon the access platform.
 4. The cableway vehicle according to claim 1,wherein a locking unit is provided on the fastening section thecrossover apparatus in order to lock the crossover apparatus in thedeployed position on the access unit and/or in the stowage position onthe cableway vehicle.
 5. The cableway vehicle according to claim 4,wherein the locking unit has at least one locking element, the lockingelement being preloaded by at least one preload element.
 6. The cablewayvehicle according to claim 1, wherein the crossover apparatus has atleast one step element and/or holding element for a person to step onand/or to hold onto.
 7. The cableway vehicle according to claim 1,wherein a length of the crossover apparatus can be changed in order toadapt the length of the crossover apparatus to a variable distancebetween the access unit and the cableway vehicle.
 8. The cablewayvehicle according to claim 1, wherein the crossover apparatus is formedas a single piece, or the crossover apparatus has a crossover unit onwhich at least one fastening element is fastened, the fastening sectionbeing provided on the fastening element.
 9. The cableway vehicleaccording to claim 8, wherein the crossover unit is designed as aladder.
 10. The cableway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein at leastone sensor for generating a sensor signal dependent on a state of thecrossover apparatus and at least one alarm unit for generating anacoustic alarm dependent on the sensor signal obtained from the sensorare provided on the cableway vehicle.
 11. The cableway vehicle accordingto claim 1, wherein the crossover apparatus is designed to enable arelative movement between the crossover apparatus and the cablewayvehicle in the deployed position in the coupled state on the accessunit.
 12. The cableway comprising at least one cableway support forguiding a conveying cable of the cableway and comprising at least onecableway vehicle arranged on the conveying cable, wherein an access unitis provided on the cableway support for the access of persons, whereinthe cableway vehicle is designed according to claims
 1. 13. The cablewayaccording to claim 12, wherein a support-mounted holding device isprovided on the access unit in order to releasably couple the crossoverapparatus to the access unit by the fastening section in the deployedposition,
 14. The cableway according to claim 12, wherein at least onesensor for generating a sensor signal dependent on a state of thecrossover apparatus is provided on the cableway support and/or on thecableway vehicle and that at least one alarm unit for generating anacoustic alarm dependent on the sensor signal obtained from the sensoris provided in the cableway.
 15. The cableway according to claim 14,wherein the cableway has a control unit for controlling a drive of thecableway, the control unit being configured to control the drive of thecableway dependent on the sensor signal obtained from the sensor.
 16. Amethod for carrying out a crossover of a person from a cableway vehicleof a cableway to an access unit of a cableway support of the cableway,wherein the cableway vehicle is moved into a crossover position in theregion of the access unit, a crossover apparatus provided on thecableway vehicle is moved from a stowage position in which the crossoverapparatus is stowed on the cableway vehicle into a deployed position forcarrying out the crossover, a fastening section of the crossoverapparatus is releasably coupled to the access unit, and the personcrosses over from the cableway vehicle to the access unit via thecrossover apparatus.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein thecrossover apparatus is locked to the access unit in the deployedposition by a locking unit.
 18. The method according to claim 16,wherein an acoustic alarm is triggered if the cableway vehicle is movedin the coupled state of the crossover apparatus on the access unit.